Sabbatini becomes Slovakian citizen

Rory Sabbatini will not have the South African flag next to his name anymore after he became an official Slovakian citizen.

Sabbatini, who is a six-time PGA Tour winner, was born in Durban in 1976 and has proudly represented South Africa in the World Cup six times, with the sole win coming in 2003.

However, the 42-year-old, whose wife Martina Stofanikova is from Slovakia, has now become an official citizen of the eastern European country and will be flying his flag for the Slovaks from now on.

Speaking at the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic in New York about the change, the 2011 Honda Classic winner said: "I believe that I will be successful for Slovak golf and will be a source of inspiration for Slovak youth."

Rastislav Antal, vice-president of the Slovak Golf Association, added: "We believe that Rory will be able to achieve successful results for Slovak golf and can raise the interest of our public and our children to become actively interested in golfing."

This article originated on sportinastorm.com

James Mason grew up in Northumberland so is entrenched in both the football and golf scenes. A low handicap golfer, he also follows Newcastle United and predicts big things under Rafa Benitez.